


Tranquility

by flightinflame



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Cabin Fic, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:07:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28093659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: In the middle of nowhere, Erik finds some peace.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Logan (X-Men)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 16
Collections: X-Men X-Traordinaire's Mini Holiday Fic Exchange 2020





	Tranquility

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DoctorMagenta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorMagenta/gifts).



Erik had known peace once, what felt like several lifetimes ago, when he had been able to fall asleep to the sound of his mother singing him a lullaby. Back then, the world had felt safe, and he'd known things would be alright. And then the world had fallen apart, and he'd learned to rely on anger and pain because those were his only constants - they were what he would have to trust to get him through the day, because nothing else would. He'd learned to use all his pain, to win, to fight. He'd learned to kill, and taken that anger, and let it burrow down deep inside, until it felt solid, until it felt safe.

It wasn't peace, not really. But it was the closest he could have.

Time had passed, and he'd found calm to be a prison, years ticking by as he was trapped in a cell. And then he'd found a man, a survivor like himself. Someone who knew the value of peace because he knew how rare it was. Someone who had seen brutality, lived through it, and had come out the other side looking uninjured. They both knew that was a lie, but it was one that most people were taken in by.

Logan had watched him as he fidgeted with a metal sphere this morning. Erik had been tense, full of unspoken anger and nervousness and need - he had been in one place too long, and he could feel his anxiety spiking. It felt like being trapped. Logan approached, then sat beside him, one strong hand wrapping around his waist.

"I spoke to Chuck."

"Oh?"

"Told him we were takin' off for a few days. Got a cabin out in the woods. Figure we can make it work, what with your powers, and then we can rest."

Erik hadn't been sure. He didn't know what he thought about time alone - he was sure he and Logan could find things to occupy themselves with, and Logan hardly needed the kind of rest most men did. But they couldn't fill all of their time with easy intimacies, and he was unsure what came at other points. He'd been concerned about getting trapped with his thoughts, like he had been in the cell.

But Logan asked, and he didn't want to let him down. So they went. The cabin was more rundown than he'd expected, but in a way that was a relief. Erik could work himself to exhaustion, clearing up and fixing things, and then Logan had brought in some fresh meat and they'd made dinner together.

And now, he finished his plate of food and nodded. "That was good."

"Thought so." Logan grinned a little, preening at the compliment. Erik knew something primitive in Logan was satisfied by the thought of providing for Erik. But Erik found he rather liked the idea - especially if it meant he got food like that. "Go put your shoes on."

Erik raised an eyebrow, but did as he was told. He'd been expecting to take things to the bedroom, maybe after doing the washing up and maybe before. But he got his shoes on, and let Logan wrap him in a thick coat - he felt the cold more than the other man. And then he let Logan lead him out of the cabin. In the middle of nowhere, they didn't need to lock up. Logan led him downhill, and he followed, stumbling over tree roots in the dark. He was a city man, used to being surrounded by metal. And here there was only the sense of his lover's body, and the metal he himself wore. 

Deprived of sight and metal-sense, he was more aware of the chill of the air, the leaves and branches underfoot, the smell of wood. He heard the distant sound of running water, which grew louder as he approached.

Eventually, Logan stopped, and Erik came to a halt beside him. After so long in the darkness, his eyes had adjusted a little, and so he stared out at the view before them in wonder. They had reached the bank of a slowly meandering river, set among large rocky boulders. Logan's arm wrapped around his shoulders, and he leaned against him, the two of them moving closer.

"This's one of my favourite places." Logan said, and Erik realised then that Logan was sharing a part of his soul. "You can lie here'n look up at the stars, and everything feels right in the world."

Erik doubted that. But he moved to lie down.

"No..." Logan laid down, then gestured for Erik to settle over his heart. Erik was used to sleeping on the ground, wanted to object to Logan's coddling. But it felt comfortable, especially when Logan's fingers brushed his hair. There was no light from the city this far out, and he could see a countless myriad of stars stretching in all directions above him. There was nothing but the warmth of Logan's body beneath him, the sound of the water, and the distant stars.

Erik wasn't sure he knew how to handle peace. But a sense of belonging settled over him, as he registered that he didn't need to handle this alone.

**Author's Note:**

> If you've enjoyed please comment! And Happy Holidays to you all.


End file.
